Meijer facts for kids
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Meijer store in Alpena, Michigan
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail (Grocery & Discount) Gasoline stations |
| Founded | 1934 Greenville, Michigan, U.S. |
| Founder | Hendrik Meijer |
| Headquarters | Walker, Michigan, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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Stores: 259 Gas stations: 208 |
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Area served
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Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Wisconsin |
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Key people
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Frederik Meijer, former chairman emeritus Hank Meijer, co-chair Mark Murray, co-chair Doug Meijer, co-chair Rick Keyes, President and CEO |
| Products | Groceries, clothing, footwear, gasoline, sporting clothing, bedding, furniture, jewelry, health and beauty products, toys, sporting equipment, electronics, housewares and pet supplies |
| Revenue |  US$20.5 billion (2022) |
| Owner | Meijer Companies LTD. (Meijer family (100%)) |
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Number of employees
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70,000 (Jan. 2020) |
Meijer Inc. (pronounced MY-er) is a large American store chain. It has many "supercenters" mainly across the Midwestern United States. A supercenter is a huge store that sells both groceries and general items.
Meijer's main office is in Walker, Michigan. The company started in 1934 as a grocery store. It was one of the first to create the modern supercenter idea in 1962. About half of its 259 stores are in Michigan. The others are in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Contents
Meijer's Story: From Barber Shop to Superstore
Meijer was started in 1934 by Hendrik Meijer. He was a Dutch immigrant and a local barber in Greenville, Michigan. He decided to open a grocery store during the Great Depression. This was a time when many people struggled to find jobs.
Hendrik's 14-year-old son, Frederik Meijer, helped him. Frederik later became the company's chairman. Today, Hendrik's grandsons, Hank and Doug Meijer, are co-chairmen. Hendrik Meijer was one of the first to offer self-service shopping. He also introduced shopping carts and sold basic items at low prices.
The first store in Greenville was very successful. More Meijer grocery stores opened in Cedar Springs (1942) and Ionia (1946). By the 1960s, the company had over 24 stores in West Michigan.
Pioneering the Supercenter Idea
In 1962, Meijer launched its new store format in Grand Rapids. This store was huge, about 180,000 square feet. It combined grocery shopping and department store shopping into one big store. This was a new idea at the time.
New stores were built this way until the mid-1970s. Meijer then expanded into other parts of Michigan. This included Delta Charter Township in 1966 and Ypsilanti in 1972.
Fred Meijer took over the company when his father passed away in 1964. Under his leadership, the stores became very successful. They were renamed "Meijer" in 1986.
Growing Across the Midwest
In the mid-1990s, Meijer expanded into three new states. The first store in Indiana opened in Mishawaka in 1994. The first Illinois store opened in Champaign in 1995.
In 1996, Meijer opened its first regular Kentucky store in Florence. It also opened four stores in Ohio. More stores followed in Lexington and Louisville in 1997.
The first Meijer store in the Northwest Indiana area opened in Michigan City in 1997. The first store in the Chicago area opened in Bolingbrook in 1999.
In 2003, Meijer announced a new look for its stores. This included a new logo to make stores feel "friendly." They hired a design company to help. In 2005, Meijer started a plan to open more stores in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.
In 2011, Frederik Meijer passed away at age 91. In 2013, Meijer opened its 200th supercenter in Swartz Creek, Michigan.
Meijer opened its first store in the city of Detroit in 2013. Its second Detroit location opened in 2015. Meijer also opened its first stores in Wisconsin in June 2015. To prepare for this, Meijer bought a distribution center in Pleasant Prairie in 2012.
In 2019, Meijer expanded into the Cleveland–Akron area with stores in Stow, Mentor, and Avon. They also opened stores near Youngstown in 2020.
How Meijer Stores Operate
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Meijer stores are known as supercenters or hypermarkets. This means they combine a grocery store and a department store in one large building. Many Meijer stores also have a Meijer gas station and a convenience store next door. Some gas stations even offer special fuels like E85 or electric car charging.
Meijer has 259 stores in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most Meijer stores were open 24 hours a day. They only closed for a short time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Other Meijer Store Types
Over the years, Meijer has tried different types of stores. In the 1970s and 1980s, they had clothing stores called Copper Rivet, Sagebrush, and Casual Court. These stores sold different kinds of brand-name clothes. They were later closed or sold.
In 1980, Meijer started a discount pharmacy chain called Spaar. These stores were later sold. Meijer also opened Meijer Square stores in 1981. These were like discount department stores but without a full grocery section. Most of these were also sold.
Meijer tried a warehouse club store called SourceClub in 1992. This idea did not work out well against competitors like Sam's Club. All seven SourceClub stores closed in 1994.
Smaller Grocery Stores
In 2018, Meijer opened Bridge Street Market in Grand Rapids. This was a smaller grocery store concept. Since then, they have opened similar markets: Woodward Corner Market (2020), Capital City Market (2020), Rivertown Market (2021), and Fairfax Market (2024).
Meijer Grocery
In 2023, Meijer introduced a new type of store called Meijer Grocery. These are standard-sized grocery stores. The first two opened in Lake Orion and Macomb Township, Michigan.
Fresh Thyme Market
Meijer is also connected to Fresh Thyme Farmers Market. This is a chain of stores that sells organic and natural foods. Fresh Thyme stores started opening in 2014. By 2024, Fresh Thyme had 70 stores in 10 Midwestern states.
Marketing and Community Support
Meijer supports different causes and events. In 2006, Meijer gave money to Calvin College in Michigan. This helped create a special position to promote Dutch language and culture.
In 2014, Meijer was one of the first stores to accept both Apple Pay and CurrentC for payments.
Meijer also sponsors sports teams. In 2023, the Detroit Tigers baseball team announced Meijer as their official jersey patch partner. Meijer's logo is also on the helmets of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team.
Store Look and Feel
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Meijer stores usually have the grocery section on one side and general merchandise on the other. Most Meijer stores are built new from the ground up. However, a few stores were once other retailers. For example, the Lincoln Park, Michigan store was a former Super Kmart.
Some older stores built in the 1960s and 1970s had a balcony. This area held small businesses like barber shops. In the late 1990s, some Meijer stores had McDonald's restaurants inside. Today, most stores have a sit-down café. Some also have a Starbucks coffee shop or a Subway restaurant.
In the 1990s, Meijer introduced new designs for its stores. One design, used in 1994, featured a "whimsical" look. It had different shapes and roof designs. A notable part was a yellow "pineapple" made of yellow bricks and glass. This design was meant to make the store feel like a "store of discovery."
Later designs changed the look of the stores. The "Presidential prototype" moved the Meijer logo to the center of the building. Then came the "Village Square prototype" with fake storefronts. The most recent design emphasizes the entrances with tall glass walls and a tilted roof.
The "Hypermarket" Idea
Meijer was a leader in the United States for creating the "supermarket" or "superstore" concept. This means bringing many different types of products together under one roof. When they opened the first "Thrifty Acres" store in 1962, it combined groceries with general merchandise. Meijer sees itself as a grocery chain that added other goods to its stores.
